Minister’s murder apology fails to stem Sinn Fein crisis

‘What happened, happened and I feel a real sense of responsibility to put that to rights’

AN APOLOGY by the Stormont finance minister over a murder allegedly committed by the IRA 13 years ago has failed to stem the crisis engulfing Sinn Fein two days before Ireland’s general election.

Conor Murphy, the Sinn Fein minister for finance in Northern Ireland, this week apologised to the parents of Paul Quinn, who was killed in 2007 – but the family wants him to resign.

Voters in the Republic of Ireland go to the polls tomorrow.

Support for Sinn Fein has surged since the general election was called last month, but the party has been embroiled in controversy since last Monday, when Mary Lou Mcdonald, the Sinn Fein president, was challenged over comments Mr Murphy made attributing the murder to a feud between rival criminal gangs.

Ms Mcdonald initially denied that Mr Murphy had made the claim but later accepted she was wrong.

No arrests were made over the death, but police believe the chief suspects to be IRA gang members and that the dispute arose over a fight between Mr Quinn and a senior IRA member’s son.

Jim O’callaghan, the justice spokesman for Fianna Fáil, the main opposition party, joined the Quinn family in calling for Mr Murphy’s resignation.

Mr Quinn’s mother Breege has fought a 13-year campaign for Mr Murphy to retract his comments. Following the apology on Wednesday, the Quinn family called for him to state publicly that Paul had no criminal links, to resign, and tell the police any information he may have about the murder.

Sinn Fein has presented itself as the party of change and its pledge to smash the duopoly of Fianna Fáil and Fine

Gael has chimed with young voters. In an interview on Newstalk radio yesterday, Ms Mcdonald was accused of trying to “whitewash the past” in an attempt to win over younger voters with no direct memory of the Troubles.

The Sinn Fein president denied the claim and said that she was not trying to “spirit away the past”.

“This isn’t about trying to whitewash anything. What happened, happened and I feel a real sense of responsibility to put that to rights,” she added.